Best Web Application Install Ever
Since I started administering web based services of one kind or another back in 1996, I’ve installed many web applications. And in most cases I’ve installed or upgraded many versions over time. And until today, every one of those installs has been a pain at best and a tediously, frustrating struggle at worst. Perhaps I’ve been installing the wrong apps or perhaps I’ve just had bad luck or haven’t followed the instructions (if there even was any). But it seems that’s just the way things are and for a system administrator responsible for web applications, that sucks. That’s not to say I’m not happy with most of the apps I’ve installed; for example, I’ve been very pleased for the most part with this blogg app, though I’ve definitely had some issues.
But I said ‘until today’ because this afternoon I installed Gallery, an open source, web based photo album organizer. In most cases, it’s not the actual install per se that causes the grief but the configuration step of the install process. At best, there is some sort of command line or curses based program (SquirrelMail has this) and at worst, such as is the case with Roller, you have to modify a config file and run the database scripts manually. Not so with Gallery. With Gallery, after I copied the files to the proper location on the web server, I then accessed the website to continue and set the application up via a web based wizard. Gallery prompted me for all the various configuration settings, including the database vendor (in my case, PostgreSQL) and database location and login details. Gallery then created and populated the DB tables and got the application to a point where it was fully functional, all within 10 steps or so. And when something couldn’t be done (perhaps a file needed to be created or have certain permissions), the current page instructed me on what needed to be done and wouldn’t let me proceed until it was. The entire process was fast, easy and very slick.
And because of the easy install, Gallery has restored my faith in open source programmers. Why? Because when developing applications, web based or not, programmers (especially junior and volunteer coders) typically like to avoid anything but coding the meat and potatoes of the application. That means that bug fixing, unit tests, install wizards, etc all get second-tier status and rarely get done. But in Gallery’s case, someone clearly cared somewhere along the line. And I can only hope that their upgrade process, when it comes time for me to do that, is equally as slick.
Wed, 15 Feb 2006 22:01 Posted in Technology
